Improvement in railroad-car brakes



' 0. HA'RRINGTON. v M1 4 Car Brake. NO. 42.189. z f V Patented Apr. 5.1864.

NrrE STATES l ATE NT trhom IMPROVEMENT IN RAplLRoAD-'OAR BRAKEs.

Sperification forming part of Letters Patent No. 42,189, dated April 5, 1864.

TO (lZZ wbom it may cel/Learn:

Be it known that l, I. HARRINGTON, of Manchester, in the countyot' Allegheny and State of PennsYlvani-a, have in rented al new and useful Improvementin Brakes i'or Railroad-Cars; land l do here-hy declare that tlle following is a-full Iand eXact description thereof. relercllce being had to the accolnpanying' drawings, and to the letters of reference lnarlted thereon. s

The nature of my in-vention vconsists ill the combination and arrangement of pulleys, frietion-pulley, drum, levers, chains, Wire ropes or rods, constructed, arranged, and operating in the Inanner hereinafter (lescribed.

To enable others skilled in the art to lnake and use my invention, l will proceed to d'escribe its construction alld operation.

In the accompanying drawiugs, Figure 1 represents a side View of an ordinary truck furnished with iny improvement in brakes. Fig. 2 represents a bottom view of the same. Fig. 3 represents the friction-pulley, druln, chains, and the lever, chain, and pulley used for making the frictiOn-pulley Operative Or inoperative, and also represents the relative po sition of the friction-pulley to the drum. Fig. 4 represents a swivel journalbox, Wllich is used in connection with the 1ever O for the shaft 2 of the friction-pillley m; V

ln tlle acconlpanying drawings, a reprcsents theframe of the tl uck. b represents the wheels. c represents the axles ot' the Wheels. d represents tlle pedestals or bearings of the axles. The frame, wheels, aXles, alld pedestals are constructed in the ordinary or well-known lnanner.

Across the center of the frame a is placed a tinlher, e, which is secured in a firm manner to the side pieces ot' the frame. To this tilnber e is secured the hangers f, the form of Which is clearly shown in Figs. l and 2. To these hangers fare secured leVe-rs g, Which are furnished With cams 1U. To the hangers f are secured hent rods 8, Which are used for supporting` the brake k and their hack-straps j.

lt will be observed that the backstrapsj are bent so th-:lt theupper end of the strap extends over the upper end of the brakes k. This Will cause the brakes by their own Weight and gravity to swing` back on the rods 8 from the wheels When relieved from the pressure of the levers g and cams 10. By this arrangement. of the rods 8 and backstraps j the brakes k Will always bbrolmht up against the Wheels so that the Whole t'aceof the brakes Will have a uniforni and equal healingr, there by obtaining the full force of the bakes and causing' them to wear erenlyand uniforlnly, which is the great desideratum in brakes.

The levers g are attached by means of links 9 to the chain h, Wllich passes over pulleys 7 and through pulley-block (i, Which is attached to the chain or wire rope y, which is connected to the shaft 2 of the friction-pulley m. One end of the shai't 2 of the lriction-pulley m has its bearing` in one end of the 1ever O, the aXis or fulcrum of Which is secure to the bar 4 attlle point Inarked m. The otller end of the shatt 2 is placed in a sWivel-bearing placed in bar 3. The form of the sWi\-'el-bearing is -clearly represented in Fig-4. The arrangement of the swivel-bearing` in bar 3%, and its operation, Willl bc readily understood by the skillful mechanic.

TO the forward end ot' lever 0 is attached a chain or rope, r, which is attached to pulley q on shaft l, on the outer end of Which is placed a pulley, z, to which is attached arope or cord. 8, which passes over a pulley, t, placed oIl the side of the car body, and is connected to the rope s on the next car having like arrangement, and so ou through the wholetrain, thereby placing,r the brakes of the entire train underthe control of the engineer, or they may be worked by brakemen for each car.

The weight u and pulley o are used for making the brakes self-actin0`. I propose making this device the subject of another application for a patent.

On one of the axles c is placcd a drum, a, Which is used for ilnparting motion to the friction-pulley m. To the chain or rope y is attached auotller chain or rope, 5, Which is attachcd to the ordinary hand-level1 and ratchet p, the operation of Which is Well known and understood in connection with brakes.

The operation of my improvement is as follows: Having all things constructed and arranged as herein described and represented, Witll the long end ot' the level" O made heavy enough to raise one end of the shat't 2, so that the friction-pulley m Will be relieved from contact With the drum n, when l desire to put on the brakes," I draW forward the cord s, which Will turn the pulley z, Which will turn the shaft 1, which will revolve the pulley q, Which will wind up the chain or rope r, Which. Will raise up the long end of the 1ever 0 andthrow down its short end, Which will bring the friction-pulley m in contact With the druln n, Which will revolve the friction-pulley m and its shaft 2, Which lWill wind up the chain or Wire rope y, Which Will draw forward the chain or rope h, Which Will draW up the levers g by means of links 9, and cause tlle eams 10 to press against the back-straps j and force thebrakes k against the Wheels b. The brakes are taken off by simply releasin g the hold on the rope or cord s, which will cause the long end of the 1ever o to drop down, Which Will relieve the pulley 'm from contact With the drum n, and the tension of the chain-s or ropes y and h will suddenly reverse the motion of the friction-pulley m and shaft 2, which Will slacken the chains or ropes y and h, and the levers g Willl drop down by their own weight, Which` will relieve the cams 10 from'theback s'trapsj and brakt s k. v The manner of Operating the brakes by means of the hand-1ever and ratchet will be readily understood by reference to Fig. 2 and the operut-ion as hereinbefore described. It Will be observed that the pulleyblock 6 Will adjust itself on the chain h, so that the force Will be equally divided on the brakes. I wish it cleallynnderstood that I do not contine myself to any particular form or size, or mode of cOnstruct-ing the various parts herein de: eribed and represented. These things I leave to the good judgment and skill of the mech lnic.

' The advantages of my improvement are as foloWs: First, I avoid the use of brake-beams, Which are a source of many accidents, by bec nnin g d'iseonnected 'from the cars and falling across thetrack and thereby throwing thetrain Ofthe track second,` the action of each brake is independent, Which is accomplished by furnishing` a 1ever for each brake, third, the brakes for each car of the train are independent, so that if one brakel or one Whole set of brakes on a car become inoperative, it Will not effect the brakes of any other car of the train; fourth, the brakes of the entire train can be placed under control of the engineer, thereby avoiding `the eXpense of keeping brakemen 5 fifth, equal and uniforln pressure of the entire face ot' the brakes on the Wheels, and also regularity and evenness in the Wear of the brakes; siXth, simplicity of construction and durability of the various parts, and also ease and facility in making repair-s 5 seventh, cheapness in construction.

I Wish it clearly understood that I do not clailn, broadly, the use of a friction-Wheel Or pulley for operating brakes, for I am aware that such device has been patented and is now in use; but

'What I do claiin as of my inventionl is- 1. The combination of the friction-pulley m and shaft 2, 1ever o, drum n, pulley q, and chains r and y, When used in connection with carbrakes, arranged .and operating in the manner herein descrizbed and set forth.

2. The use of the chain z adj ustable pulleyblock 6, and chain h, When used in combination With a 1ever for each brake, and so arranged that the brakes will a-ct independent of each other, as herein described and set forth. V

3. The arrangelnent of the pulleys t, z, and q, chain or cord s, chain T, 1ever o, shaft 2, frietiOn-pulley m, drum n, chains 3/ and h, adjustable pulley-block 6, levers g, furnished with cams 10, and brakes k, arranged and operating substantially as herein described, and for the purpose set fcrth. V

- O. I. HARRINGTON. Witnesses: V

JAMES J. J oHNsToN, JOHN DAVIS. 

